According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) increased while those of commercial real estate loans (CRELs) decreased in January 2022.  With regard to the outstanding balances, RMLs dropped whereas CRELs witnessed an increase.

New lending approved

In January 2022, new RMLs approved by Macao banks advanced by 40.4% month-to-month to MOP3.50 billion. Of which, new RMLs to residents, representing 99.3% of the total, grew by 41.5% to MOP3.48 billion. On the other hand, the non-resident component fell by 34.6% to MOP24.5 million. The monthly average of new RMLs approved between November 2021 and January 2022 was MOP3.1 billion, up by 14.6% from the previous period (October to December 2021). 

New RMLs collateralised by uncompleted units (i.e. equitable mortgage) increased month-to-month by 90.1% to MOP756.9 million. On an annual basis, new equitable mortgage approved rose by 134.6%.

New CRELs dropped by 70.6% month-to-month to MOP3.23 billion. Within this total, new CRELs to residents, which occupied 99.6% of the total, decreased by 70.6% to MOP3.22 billion; new CRELs to non-residents also declined by 65.5% to MOP12.6 million. The monthly average of new CRELs approved between November 2021 and January 2022 was MOP9.0 billion, up by 5.0% as compared with the previous period (October to December 2021). 

Outstanding balances

As at end-January 2022, the outstanding value of RMLs fell by 0.2% month-to-month but rose by 1.7% from a year earlier to MOP239.2 billion, attributable to the repayment of loans with large denomination. Of which, the resident component made up 94.8% of the loans. When compared with the previous month, outstanding RMLs to residents and non-residents dropped by 0.1% and 1.6% respectively.

The outstanding value of CRELs was MOP162.2 billion, which grew by 0.3% from a month earlier but decreased by 2.5% from a year ago. Residents accounted for 93.6% of the loans. Compared with a month earlier, outstanding CRELs to residents increased by 0.3% whereas those to non-residents fell by 0.4%.

Delinquency ratios

At the end of January 2022, the delinquency ratio for RMLs stood at 0.29%, up by 0.01 percentage point from a month ago or 0.04 percentage points over a year earlier. The ratio for CRELs stood at 0.52%, a drop of 0.07 percentage points from a month ago but virtually unchanged from end-January 2021.